Seth Bowman & King Ka$h
“The Devil’s Advocate,” EP
Everybody knows that Nashville and Tennessee are known for great country music. But you can’t pass up the other genre’s that are dutifully represented here, like Gospel (thank you Elizabeth King), Rock (the Reveal), Jazz (Pat Coil) and of course, rap and hip hop. Case in point, this killer EP from Seth Bowman and King Ka$h, “The Devil’s Advocate.” Here’s our review:
Knoxville natives Seth and King have been on a prolific tear in the past two years. Between the two of them, they’ve released over 30 tracks and racked up thousands of streams and followers. We’re not quite sure how they met but their flows and timbre match up nicely - it’s like the left and right of the same brain.
Lyrically, it’s what you’d expect from hip hop & rap. It can be dark, hard hitting, brutally honest, foreboding but also joyous - just like life. No topic is sacred, and that’s a good thing. Sex, drugs, bullying, fantasy, celebration, the afterlife, working on your craft - it’s all covered - and their delivery is natural. You can tell that these two are true students of the genre. At it’s core, rap is beat poetry, and while the rhyme is still important, the flow has more value. They know this and implement it well. Rap also has a lot of “bravado” to it, but, it can be done without being arrogant - just matter of fact - and we like how they accomplish that as well.
Musically, we’re very impressed and surprised by the tones and beats. It’s not typical - it got us off guard a few times, and we love that. It’s so easy to grab the most popular 808 that moves you, that same piano sample that everyone uses, and the same old tricks of vocalizers and what I like to call “booty call BG’s,” but they don’t go there. We really enjoyed their take on tracking and instrumentation. Yes, it’s packaged (most hip hop and rap is), but we don’t hear tones and tracks like this very often - these lyrical assassins are really working on the originality of their craft.
The timing of this EP is perfect for Halloween. Here’s a track list:
Candlelight Séance
Murder the She Wrote
The Devil’s Advocate
12 a.m. Shadows
Hell Raiser
Show some love for the rappers in Tennessee and check this out - it’s a hell of a lot better and more original than most releases coming out on the main stream. And don’t pass on Knoxville, either. It’s a smaller city, but there’s a lot of talent there.